


The Bad Day Becomes Good

by JustTrash_Fan



Category: Les Misérables - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Art Student Gantaire, First Meetings, M/M, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-27
Updated: 2018-01-27
Packaged: 2019-03-10 08:00:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,744
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13497898
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JustTrash_Fan/pseuds/JustTrash_Fan
Summary: Grantaire is an art student who is having a bad day. That all changes when he stumbles across a protest on his college campus. Basically Grantaire and Enjolras briefly meet for the first time.





	The Bad Day Becomes Good

Grantaire wasn’t having a good day. The heating in his apartment building broke, leaving his apartment to be attacked by the icy cold of the outside world. Then while walking the long path to his school a car drove through a puddle beside him, splashing ice cold water onto him, soaking his clothes and his bag full of his supplies for school. After that the art student figured his day couldn’t get much worse, almost immediately after he regretted that thought. Whether it was from the old age of the bag or the water that had soaked through it, Grantaire’s bag decided that it would be a good time to kill itself and split perfectly down the seam at the bottom, spilling all of his art supplies onto the ground.  
        After gathering all of his art supplies, Grantaire began to angrily stomp towards the school. After weaving through a large amount of people who didn’t seem to notice the sopping wet art student, Grantaire finally made it to his class, only to discover that no one was there. When his professor noticed the dripping wet 18 year old she was more or less confused.  
                “Grantaire what are you doing here?” She asked him. “Class was cancelled.” R almost screamed. It seemed to him that his day could not get better. Professor Azalea eyed him up and down for a moment before speaking, “While your here I want to talk to you about the portrait you drew the other day.” She motioned for Grantaire to follow her as she stepped into her office and pulled out a picture with a small, but stylized R at the bottom.  
                                                                                                 “Is something wrong with it?” Grantaire asked after sitting down in one of the warm plush seats across from his teacher.  
          Grantaire leaned forward as she handed him the portrait. Grantaire looked over it as the female professor spoke, “Grantaire I have had the joy of over analyzing many of your artworks, you always draw with so much feeling, and you can see that in your other works.” R looked up at her waiting for what she would say next. “This particular art piece, has no feeling in it. I want you to succeed so I’m asking you to draw a new one of someone know, I want to see the same level of feeling that goes into your other pieces.”  
Grantaire was speechless, he didn’t speak or notice anything until teacher dismissed him and he was already out of the building. Who on earth did he know that he could draw while putting a good amount of feeling into his art?  
                                                It was at this moment when Grantaire’s day got suddenly brighter. While walking through the lush green lawn at the front of his college a group of people caught his attention. The people had signs and were all standing around the broken and worn down fountain as someone yelled, riling up the crowd. Out of curiosity, or maybe a lack of self preservation, R walked over to the group of people. He stopped relatively close to the edge of the crowd, and looked around trying to see what the group was gathered for.  
                     R caught a glance at one of the protesters signs which read, “ASSIGNED GENDER MAY NOT BE MY GENDER” with the back of it saying, “LET VALIN LIVE IN HIS RIGHT DORMS!”  
        Grantaire suddenly realized what they were protesting. Henry Valin started school this year as a freshman and was placed into a boy’s dorm, but after meeting Valin, the school realised that he was transgender and quickly moved him into the girls dormitories. As far as he knew Valin was still fighting to be put into the right dormitories.  
                                                                     Grantaire was prepared to turn around and walk away when suddenly someone stood up on the fountain and the entire crowd went silent and waited for the man to speak.  
                                R was stunned by the man. Standing on the fountain was a god. Grantaire was sure that this man had to be Aphrodite or Apollo in disguise. The art student was taken by the long blond hair that framed high cheekbones and blue eyes. The blond radiated light, and his eyes had a spark in them that grew into a fire as soon as he opened his mouth to speak.  
                     “My friends! This school stands by its decision to deny a person of their rights, a person who discovered himself and wanted nothing more than to be who they are. If the school will deny them rights, then what is next? This school can take its first step toward progress or it can take another step into darkness. But we will fight for progress the entire way! Kicking and screaming and biting, we will not go down without a fight!” The man thrusted his hand up into the air as people cheered, beginning to scream again.  
              The man stayed up on the fountain continuing to rile the group up. Grantaire decided that he could not miss this moment. So he sat down on the slightly damp grass, pulled out his sketchbook and some charcoal and he started to draw the man. He drew his hair and his cheekbones. He shaded the man’s red vest in with black.  
As he was finishing up his drawing a shadow fell over him. R looked up to see a short curly haired man who was grinning at him and a taller man with thick black glasses looking down at him. Grantaire followed their eye line to see that they were both staring at his drawing. The artist pulled his picture up quickly face flushing in embarrassment.  
The curly haired man plopped down next to him and grinned, “Names Courfeyrac,” he gestured to the serious man who was still standing, “That's Combeferre my boyfriend.” Combeferre just stared at him seriously.  
                              “That was an interesting drawing you were working on, it’s of our friend, Enjolras, right?” Courfeyrac pointed over to where the crowd was now leaving and the man in question was talking to another person.  
                                                   Grantaire simply nodded, not knowing where this was going. “Great! You should come show him!” Courfeyrac said simply while standing up.  
R’s eyes widened as he looked up at the two, “What?” He questioned alarmed. “There’s no way i’m showing the gorgeous god you call your friend this picture, which does not even nearly do him justice, that I, a random stranger, drew of him!” Grantaire scrambled to his feet.  
                                                                               Courfeyrac looked amused, “He will think the picture is brilliant, and besides we’re looking for an artist to make a few painting’s for the LGBTQ+ Union of Fredrickson College.”  
                                                       Grantaire still shook his head, “Okay first off, you guys need a shorter name, that is a mouthful.” Combeferre looked annoyed at that but Courfeyrac laughed. “And again, your friend is obviously a god. And interacting with a god not only goes against my belief as I am an atheist, but it also puts me in a position where I may make a fool out of myself by asking your god friend out on a date and getting denied.”  
                                                                                           Courfeyrac smiled for a moment before looking over at Combeferre, “I guess we have no choice.” Combeferre nodded at him before turning to R.  
                  “You are an art major correct?” Grantaire nodded and Combeferre pushed up his glasses before speaking, “Then as an art student you know that you have to have permission on campus to draw another person or you can get kicked out of the class, and we are not afraid to tell your professor about this.”  
R raised an eyebrow, “The two of you realize that threatening another student is also against the rules and will get you expelled.”  
                                                                       Combeferre didn’t miss a beat before replying, “Yes well we have evidence and you don’t have any.” Grantaire stared for a moment before sighing and nodding.  
                                              “Fine but if this goes down hill and I embarrass myself I get to punch both of you in the face, and I warn you I box for fun,” R told them arms crossed.  
           Courfeyrac nodded quickly before grabbing his arm and dragging him at a fast pace toward the god, causing R to say, “For a small guy you’re pretty strong.” Courfeyrac laughed before coming to a stop in front of the God, Enjolras, and another man.  
                                                                                             “Enjolras, Marius, Enj, Marius!” Courfeyrac chanted exited. They both turned to look at Courfeyrac.  
                                                                                                                                                              The blond god sighed, “Yes Courf?” Courfeyrac grinned and pushed Grantaire forward.  
                        Grantaire gave an embarrassed smile “Enjolras and Marius I would like you to meet…” Courfeyrac faltered and looked at R, “Um, well this is, uh, I’m sorry I never got your name.” The curly haired man said face flushing.  
                                             R smiled, “It’s Grantaire, but most people call me R.”  
                                                                                   Courfeyrac grinned before speaking, “This is Grantaire, but most people call him R,” Grantaire gave a breathy laugh as the curly haired man said this, “He is an artist,” Courfeyrac jabbed R in the stomach, “Show them the drawing that you did.”  
                                                                                                                                                    Grantaire hesitated for a moment. That moment was long enough for Combeferre to appear and raise an eyebrow at him. Grantaire sighed before handing over the picture that he drew of the god.  
                                                                                                                                                                                     Both Marius and Enjolras were surprised at the drawing, neither of them saying anything as they admired it. R spoke nervously as they looked at the picture, “My professor told me that my last portrait didn’t have any feeling in it and that I needed to draw something that I admired. Then I happened to walk past and see you speaking and it was very inspiring, good job,” Grantaire said quickly, his neck heating up as he spoke.  
                               The God, Enjolras, looked up at him, “This is incredible,” R felt his whole face go red, “Would you consider coming to some of our meetings and drawing some things for us?” Enjolras asked him while giving a charming smile.  
Grantaire almost fainted on the spot, but he just managed to keep his composure. “Only if you will let me turn that in as my portrait for my art class.” The art student managed to get out.  
               Enjolras smiled and nodded, “My name is Enjolras by the way, but you can call me E. I’ll see you at the next meeting Grantaire.”  
                                                                                                                             The god gave Grantaire another charming smile before walking away, leaving the art student to stand there, mentally screaming.


End file.
